Damaged Cues ??? From Water

abe

abe

Banned
Damaged Cues / Table ??? From Water

I was wondering if anyone knew had bad water damage on cues could be?

I had a few cues get wet in my basement from some flooding and was wondering if it caused serious damage to the cues? The wraps were all wet along with the tips and the wood itself. Can they be dried?, Will they warp?

The legs of my pool table were also ruined but I am wondering if the moisture in the air ruined the other wooden parts of the table. Any thoughts on what to look for or should the whole table be replaced?

Hopefully the insurance co will pay for all of it but we don't know yet. Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
 
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I haven't really dealt with that but I would assume the cues will dry. Sometimes people hang cue shafts by a string to straighten them. This might not hurt to ensure they don't warp while they dry out.

The other table parts should be fine. I can't see moisture causing a table to warp or bow that bad unless it was in direct contact with lots of water.
 
abe said:
I was wondering if anyone knew had bad water damage on cues could be?

I had a few cues get wet in my basement from some flooding and was wondering if it caused serious damage to the cues? The wraps were all wet along with the tips and the wood itself. Can they be dried?, Will they warp?

The legs of my pool table were also ruined but I am wondering if the moisture in the air ruined the other wooden parts of the table. Any thoughts on what to look for or should the whole table be replaced?

Hopefully the insurance co will pay for all of it but we don't know yet. Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
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The best thing to do is let the cues dry out naturally, use no artificial heat, just let them dry out over time. Do you know what the cues weighed before they became wet? If so weigh the cues and see what they weigh now, if they weigh more, wait until all of them to return to there original weight before doing anything to them. Most likely the cues wrap will come loose or swell and the cue will need a re-wrap.

When the cues weight returns to normal the cue is dry, until then keep them out in the open in normal room temperature. If they are going to warp they will, if they are not going to they won't only time will tell.

Good luck I hope all turns out well.
 
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Thanks for the info.

I should also mention that yes one of the wraps of the cues is already coming off, 1 of the cues is growing mold and many of the tips look to be rottiong off.
The cues sat in a case which soaked up water for over a week so they were combletely saturated. There are about 21 cues with many customs. I have also noticed that on some of the cues (my Cognoscenti, Helmstetter and Richard Black) that the points/inlays seemed to be raised which has been noticed after the cues were airdryed for over a week.

Has anyone dealt with an insurance company regarding this before?

Are the cues a complete loss based on the info above? Were are talking $15,000 worth of cues.

Any additional help, suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Can you take and post pics? If the mold gets into the wood, it will be difficult to restore them.
 
ratcues said:
Can you take and post pics? If the mold gets into the wood, it will be difficult to restore them.
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Without a doubt, the mold is in the wood. It entered through a chip in the finish and has even spread under the finished areas. The shaft is also discolored from the muddy water.

Ryan, what about the swelling around the joints, ferrules, points/inlays? Many of the cues are 300-500 production cues. Are these worthe trying to fix?

If it is an easy fix great but if not and is expensive I may ask the insurance co for full replacement value of the cues.
 
abe said:
Without a doubt, the mold is in the wood. It entered through a chip in the finish and has even spread under the finished areas. The shaft is also discolored from the muddy water.

Ryan, what about the swelling around the joints, ferrules, points/inlays? Many of the cues are 300-500 production cues. Are these worth trying to fix?

If it is an easy fix great but if not and is expensive I may ask the insurance co for full replacement value of the cues.
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Well, only you can answer that question. Without seeing the cues, the ones with mold in the wood fibers are toast. I have not been able to pull that discoloration out once it penetrates. The swelling is a case by case basis. It will depend on extent of damage and the materials used. At $300-500, I'd say it is not worth it unless there is some sentimental value or the cue is too rare to replace.

What is insurance saying? Start finding documentation of the value of each cue.....
 
ratcues said:
Well, only you can answer that question. Without seeing the cues, the ones with mold in the wood fibers are toast. I have not been able to pull that discoloration out once it penetrates. The swelling is a case by case basis. It will depend on extent of damage and the materials used. At $300-500, I'd say it is not worth it unless there is some sentimental value or the cue is too rare to replace.

What is insurance saying? Start finding documentation of the value of each cue.....
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Insurance co is saying that if they pay me for them they get the cues which is cool with me (15K in my pocket sounds real good right now). However there is some question as to the amount they will cover. I have the documentation for all the cues except the Cog and Helmstetter, I will be working on getting that info this week.

I am probably going to contact Roy at Indy Q Shop for info on the Cog but I don't know who to contact for the old Helmstetter 8 point. I saw the exact cue in the BB of cues once in a color picture but can not remember the value. It's a sweet older Helmstetter with 2 shafts, steel joint, 8 points and many inlays. I have had it for 20+ years.

Does anyone know who would be best to appraise this cue?
 
For the cues that are showing mold, make a concentration of Bleach mixed with water and apply it to those areas with a Cue-tip. Make the concentration 75% bleach to 25% water and let it soak in, this will kill the mold and stop it from spreading any further. Bleach solutions are the best thing available to kill Biological spores of any kind. I do not what else to tell you.

Sorry to hear about your problem,
 
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I do water damage restoration for a living

Hello,

I deal with water damage everyday. I am an IICRC (WRT) certified water damage restoration tech.

It is amazing what kind of damage can be done by water and moisture, even with no direct contact. Elevated moisture will find its way into furniture and surrounding materials.

Did you hire a water damge restoration company? What caused the water damage ( flood, appliance, water pipe, etc). Who is your insurance company?

#1 DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!! Take as many pics as you can. If you do not have documentation, it did not happen as far as the insurance company is concerned. Get verification of cue values and produce any receipts that may back you up.


I personally feel that if they are willing to cover the cost, take the money, instead of trying repair. I am pretty sure that the cues are severely damaged.

Also, where do you live? Different enviroments are more prone to mold, etc.

You can dry out wood with dehumidification. But the question is will they return to their original and straight condition? I would prob suggest hanging them from the tips in a closed enviroment with dehumidifiers and blowers. The blowers create evaporation and the DH's will pull that moisture out and drain it into a sink, etc. Wood is considered "dry" when its moisture content is below 16%.

Even assuming that you dry out the wood and it returns to a straight condition, there is more than wood in a cue. Every material has different rates of absorption and differing rates that it will release moisture. These different materials will expand and contract at different rates and can cause all kinds of problems with the cues integrity. Inlays and rings can pop out, the finish can crack, etc.



I deal with insurance companies all the time in this situation. It is usually easier if it is an independant adjuster as opposed to an employee of the insurance company.

Oh, and as far as mold goes. See if you can find a product called microban. It is prob the best product available to kill and inhibit mold growth.


Let me know if I can help out. Give me a little more info, and I am sure I could offer a bit more advice.



Jason
 
Get original estimates and receipts on the cues. Your insurance will likely cover anythign that they can verify value of.

What kind of case were the cues stored in? Professional curiosity.

Good luck with it all.
 
JB Cases said:
Get original estimates and receipts on the cues. Your insurance will likely cover anythign that they can verify value of.

What kind of case were the cues stored in? Professional curiosity.

Good luck with it all.
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One of your's John!!!!!!!!!!!!:D
 
JB Cases said:
Get original estimates and receipts on the cues. Your insurance will likely cover anythign that they can verify value of.

What kind of case were the cues stored in? Professional curiosity.

Good luck with it all.
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Sorry I counldn't help myself, no hard feelings John!!!!!!!:D
 
Also, although this is too late to help you I would highly suggest to others who keep their cues in a place which could be flooded that they get some "drybags" to keep the cue cases in.

A Dry Bag is used by the river rafting community to keep things dry when the canoe flips. You can get them in sizes that are large enough to hold most cue cases. They are watertight.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...i=g10&oq=&emsg=NCSR&ei=xLBfS5_BGIS4owT90NiBBQ
 
JB Cases said:
What kind of case were the cues stored in? Professional curiosity.
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Funny you should ask John. I actually got one of the cases from you BUT it wasn't one of your fine cases in was a cheap 10 cue display case. You traded me 2 of these along with 20 or so low end cues a few years ago when you were in the Charlotte area for 3 highend cues I had.
 
JB Cases said:
Get original estimates and receipts on the cues. Your insurance will likely cover anythign that they can verify value of.

What kind of case were the cues stored in? Professional curiosity.

Good luck with it all.
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No your insurance will not cover your cues. (At least not for much)

I carry a "rider" policy on my homeowners.

Ken
 
abe said:
Funny you should ask John. I actually got one of the cases from you BUT it wasn't one of your fine cases in was a cheap 10 cue display case. You traded me 2 of these along with 20 or so low end cues a few years ago when you were in the Charlotte area for 3 highend cues I had.
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Oh yeah, now I remember who you are. Yeah those dealer cases aren't made to stand up to submersion. Good luck with your situation.
 
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